New faces eyeing Turner's open seat

In a recent addition to his stump speech, state Sen Daniel Wolf shares the story of a 25-year-old Cape Air employee who earns $17 an hour but still struggles to make ends meet.

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By C. Ryan Barber

capecodtimes.com

By C. Ryan Barber

Posted Nov. 9, 2013 at 2:00 AM
Updated Nov 9, 2013 at 8:49 AM

By C. Ryan Barber

Posted Nov. 9, 2013 at 2:00 AM
Updated Nov 9, 2013 at 8:49 AM

» Social News

In a recent addition to his stump speech, state Sen. Daniel Wolf shares the story of a 25-year-old Cape Air employee who earns $17 an hour but still struggles to make ends meet.

The young worker's strife is emblematic, he said, of a generation that is energized and engaged but grappling too often with a high cost of living and steep student debt, enough to imbue it with a "kind of hopelessness that we never experienced when we were kids."

It is his generation's challenge, Wolf told a crowd at last week's fundraiser for Barnstable County Commissioner Sheila Lyons, to "inspire them and empower them to be the next leaders of future generations." He then looked across the dining room at Van Rensselaer's Restaurant & Raw Bar to find Ben deRuyter, pointing out the first-term Brewster selectman as the face of that next generation.

With state Rep. Cleon Turner "99 percent" sure he will retire next year, that generation could be rising sooner rather than later in the 1st Barnstable District.

DeRuyter, 36, has been exploring a run to replace the 67-year-old Dennis Democrat in the district, which includes the western half of Brewster.

And he might not even be the youngest candidate in the Democratic field.

Stefanie Coxe, 31, the newly tapped executive director of Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & Islands Inc., is rumored to be considering a run to succeed Turner, who hired her in 2005 as a legislative aide. After five years with Turner, Coxe went on to manage Wolf's first run for the Cape and Islands Senate seat before becoming a district representative for U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass.

Coxe, of Dennisport, declined to comment on her plans, noting that Turner has not yet made a formal announcement regarding his retirement. Turner said Thursday he would likely finalize his decision by month's end.

"I certainly expect that Rep. Turner intends to retire at the end of his current term," said deRuyter, who manages commercial properties in Provincetown with a business partner. "I would only pursue this if he did choose to retire."

DeRuyter said he hopes to make a decision this month, a timetable that would allow him to raise money before the end of the year. The annual limit of $500 per individual donor resets Jan. 1.

If elected, deRuyter said, he would carry on Turner's advocacy for regional school districts such as the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District, which falls almost entirely within the area he would serve. In his time on the Brewster Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen, deRuyter said, the issue of wastewater — which he described as a "defining" subject for the next 20 years on Cape Cod — has unfolded before him.

DeRuyter said wastewater solutions should be driven by the towns, with the state and county providing scientists and engineers, along with funding.

"What we don't want to see happen is have solutions inflicted upon us," he said.

His "heart is in it," deRuyter said, but the father of three is still weighing family and professional considerations.

The run could be difficult for Democrats in a district that largely leans to the right. When he was first elected in 2004, Turner became the first Democrat to ever win in the Mid-Cape district. "The district as a whole will be a challenge to hold on to. That's the nature of the precincts that we have," deRuyter said. "Rep. Turner is the very first Democrat to win this district. Ever."

On Thursday, Turner said deRuyter could benefit by hailing from Brewster, which the fifth-term Democrat described as "a solid Democratic vote for the district." The district also includes more of Brewster than it does Barnstable, where Howard Boats owner Peter Eastman, of Cummaquid, is running as a Republican.

While he has a "good business background," Turner said, deRuyter could benefit from more experience as a selectman, although he noted that Wolf's first elective office was the Cape and Islands Senate seat.

"If it were me, I'd maybe want to wait a little longer. But people test the waters in different ways," Turner said. "I think he's very confident that he can do the job here at the Statehouse. He's an interesting and energetic candidate."

Turner had similar praise for Coxe, his former aide, whom he described as "extremely bright and energetic" and involved with local organizations such as the Cape Cod Young Professionals, where she serves on the board of directors.

"The advantage each of them has, which would be a benefit to the district, is they're both young," Turner said. "Us old guys have been handling this for a while. It would be nice to have young people with fresh ideas and a different outlook."